Blog

Story through Dialogue, Part 4: Movement

Dialogue is also often used in stories to create forward movement in the story. An example of this could happen when a detective is interviewing a suspect. If the suspect’s alibi is that she was taking care of her sick grandmother when the crime was committed, the detective would need to find out whether the suspect’s alibi was true by visiting the suspect’s grandmother. In this example, as a result of the dialogue between the detective and suspect, both the detective and the story are propelled forward.

Activity: Setting the Scene with Dialogue as Characterization

Instructions: For this exercise, you will write a scene that is made up only of dialogue. Think of a specific situation with two characters. Give the characters names and state how you’re going to move the story forward through dialogue. Then create the dialogue the two characters will use as movement.